Missouri Joins Five States to Launch Enforcement Blitz Against Speeding

6-State Regional Effort, Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine

KANSAS CITY, MO – Missouri law enforcement officials have announced they will conduct a speed enforcement blitz throughout the state from July 21-July 23, 2017. “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” is an intensified effort to crack down on speeding. Similar crackdown efforts are occurring across the region in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Up and down the highways and roadways of these states in the country’s midsection, officers will be ticketing anyone exceeding the speed limit.

“Speeding translates to death on our roadways. It greatly reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Speeding drivers put themselves, their passengers and other drivers at tremendous risk. All drivers need to be on alert - the posted speed limit is the law. When it comes to speeding, no more warnings and no more excuses - Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine,” said Susan DeCourcy, Regional Administrator NHTSA Region 7.

National and Statewide speeding deaths

In 2015, speeding was a contributing factor in 27 percent of all fatal crashes in the U.S. and more than 9,500 lives were lost in such crashes, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In Missouri during 2015, there were 869 total traffic fatalities with 310 of them (36%) speeding related.

“During the “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” blitz in Missouri, officers will intensify enforcement of posted speed limits in Missouri. We’ll stop and ticket anyone caught speeding—especially on Interstates 70, 44, 55, 35, where most of our speed-related crashes occur,” said Colonel Sandra Karsten of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

In 2015, 17 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on local roads -- where the posted speed limits were 55 miles per hour or under. According to NHTSA, a crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph or greater is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality than a crash on a road with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph and nearly five times as likely as a crash on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph or below. About 15 percent of the country’s speeding-related fatalities occur on interstate highways each year.

NHTSA considers a crash speeding-related if the driver was charged with exceeding the posted speed limit or if the driver was driving too fast for conditions at the time.